The London Metropolitan Police disclosed on Sunday that British counterterrorism officers conducted arrests of Iranian men accused of planning a terrorist attack on an unspecified location throughout London.A network of five Iranian men aged 29 to 46 became subjects of police arrest across England for planning to execute a terrorist attack on Saturday.The investigators have yet to confirm the nationality of the fifth suspect while the other four men hold Iranian citizenship.A different London-based investigation into Iranian nationals aged between 39 and 55 years old resulted in their arrests for national security violations.
The police currently interrogates all suspects at their facilities even though no charges have been issued so far. Law enforcement personnel along with police officers conduct property searches across London as well as in Manchester northwest England and Swindon western England.The agency maintains secrecy about the location targeted in the attack plan because operational security demands it.The leader of the Counter Terrorism Command at the police force Dominic Murphy continues to work on determining both the motive of the attack and any additional potential threats facing the public.
The arrests received words of condemnation from Home Secretary Yvette Cooper because they demonstrated the vital necessity for Britain to evolve its counterterrorism strategy.She stated that the government remains active with police forces and intelligence units to provide complete backing for the security assessments needed to safeguard the country.British MI5 domestic security service leader Ken McCallum informed in October 2022 that his agents working with police found 20 death-threatening plots sponsored by Iran since the beginning of 2022 mostly directed against Iranians living in the U.K. who challenge the government.